Kafarṭāb

Kafartab was a fortified town on the dry plain between Ma'arrat al-Nu'man and Shayzar. Its scarcity of water was noted by medieval writers; rainwater cisterns supplied its inhabitants. The town changed hands during the struggles between Crusaders and Muslim rulers, and families displaced by war later returned. In the early fourteenth century Abu'l-Fida described Kafartab as a small town with little water.